Of Gasoline and Chlorine
by TimeForMiracles
Summary: Derek was afraid of being afraid.


**A/N: This was a prompt fill that was requested on tumblr! :) It took me waaaaay too long to complete it, and for, that I'm sorry! I hope you enjoy it nevertheless!  
**

**Prompt: Stiles joins the swim team. Derek hates the smell of chlorine on him.**

**Summary: Derek was afraid of being afraid.**

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The alarm rang, jolting Stiles awake and making him bang his head on the wall. He held his head as his arm blindly searched for the source of the ringing. When he pressed the button and got it to stop making noise, he looked over and saw that the clock read 5:45 AM. Swim practice started at six! Oh no, he was going to be late! And to his first practice of the year, too. Great. Just great. It was just greatness shining down all over this joint, yup.

Stiles hustled out of bed and searched for his pair of swim trunks. He pulled them on quickly and then also shimmied into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Making his way into the bathroom, he quickly brushed his teeth and hair and did whatever else was necessary at the start of his day.

Grabbing his bag, he ran downstairs and to the door, opening it and jogging down the steps of his house. He reached for his car keys in his back pocket and they fumbled through his fingers, dropping onto the pavement. Cursing, he picked them up and opened his jeep when he got to it. When he started the car, he looked at the fuel gauge and sighed with frustration. The gauge was on empty. "UGH! Could this day _get_ any _worse_?"

He put the car in reverse and pulled out of the driveway, but not before hitting a few trash cans along the way. They didn't tip over, but they sure did startle the hell out of him. It made him paranoid. He drove along the memorized roads carefully and cautiously. If Stiles didn't know any better, he'd say the world was out to get him today.

Stopping to get gas before practice probably wasn't the best idea time management wise, but he figured he was going to be late already. However, when he pulled up, he saw a certain sour wolf eyeing him from the pump he was at. _'Derek...?'_ Stiles thought as he cautiously got out of his car. Avoiding eye contact, he went into the store to pay the person at the register and then went back out to pump number 6. He felt a pair of eyes boring a hole into the back of his head as he pumped the gas into his jeep.

Without a second glance, Stiles hopped into his jeep once he was done putting gas in it and drove off toward the school. Screw that, he's not dealing with sour wolf this early in the morning!

After he parked in what he figured was a safe parking space, he took his bag and got out of the car. He sprinted to the locker room and changed out of his clothes quickly so that he was only in his red swim trunks. It was tough to wrestle out of his jeans, due to the fact that he had forgotten that he had shoes on his feet. But eventually, he got out of them.

He got to the poolside by around 6:04, and was surprised when he saw that only half of the team was there, anyway. The coach marked his name down for attendance as Stiles started his ten lap warm-up. Little did he know that there was a certain someone who greatly disliked the smell of chlorine. He was surprised that Stiles had sort of forgotten about the whole ordeal, because Derek Hale definitely hadn't!

Fighting off the Kanima in the pool that night was pure torture for Derek. He now viewed pools as something that would kill him if he even glanced at one. Which is why he had told Stiles not to join the swim team; he would have preferred him to just stick to lacrosse, but no, he had to join a morning _and_ an afternoon sport, right? Right.

Anyway, Stiles finished his warm-up and practiced his dives with the team when they all finally showed up. It was a quick practice; they were done by seven, which gave them all enough time to go into the locker room, have a quick shower, dry off, and change. Stiles had around twenty or so minutes to spare, after he had finished changing, before school actually started. It was only 7:10 and the first bell rang at 7:30. He figured he'd go find Scott.

He texted Scott and asked where he was and, when he looked up, the locker room was empty. Everyone had agendas and such while Stiles had spare time, so he just waited for Scott to reply as he packed up his things. It was when something rattled slightly on the other side of the lockers that Stiles jumped. He looked around for the source of the noise, and when he heard it again, he began to panic. "... Okay, Scott! Not funny, man! Haha... You're, uh, seriously not good at scaring people, so just..." He didn't even get to finish his sentence before a certain dark-haired, red-eyed Alpha werewolf jumped him and slammed him against the lockers. "AAH!" Stiles shouted in alarm, and Derek covered his mouth in return.

"SHH! Keep it down!" he ushered, and Stiles 'mmphed' against his hand. He narrowed his eyes, though they were still slightly panicked, when his eyes met Derek's. When he noticed they were red, his eyes widened considerably and he became even more panicked. His breathing slowed, though, as the initial alarm faded. Derek released his hand from Stiles' mouth and made a fist, slamming it into the locker above Stiles' head. He leaned in closer while Stiles just continued to meet his gaze.

"... Can I... help you?" Stiles asked sort of incredulously. Derek's pupils were dilating, and Stiles wanted to freak when Derek dug his face into his neck. He raised an eyebrow when he heard Derek inhale sharply. "... Okay. Then answer this: is there a _reason_ you're interested in how my neck smells?" Derek just sort of stayed silent for the next few minutes and did the same thing to the other side of Stiles' neck. When it turned 7:15, Stiles had enough and he tried to push the Alpha off, but it wouldn't work. He wouldn't budge. "Derek! Get off of me, come on!-"

"You smell awful," he interrupted. Stiles, offended at the statement, shoved hard against him.

"Yeah, it's chlorine, douchebag. I was just in the pool. I guess I didn't shower off well enough..." he replied, beginning to trail off as Derek turned him around so that the front of his body was against the locker and Derek was against his back. "Wow, can you stop?" Stiles asked, knowing what the response would be already. Derek's disgruntled growl was enough of an answer.

It was edging on 7:20 now, and Stiles was getting anxious that he would be late for class if Derek continued as he did. His phone vibrated, but when he went to reach into his pocket to get it, the Alpha stopped him cold by grabbing his wrist and squeezing until he dropped it. "Ow! Stop it, Derek, that hurts!" Derek nudged his neck affectionately and loosened his grip on the shorter teen.

Wait. Was Derek. Was he... purring? Was that a purring noise coming from his mouth? What? Cat? But he's a dog? Huh? "What kind of noise is that? Are you a cat now? Is that what this is? Are you trying to assert your feline dominance over me? Are we roleplaying? Is that one of your kinks? Because there's nothing wrong with it, if that's what you're into and all. Nope. No complaints from me. Could you let me go, now? It's been like fifteen minutes, and class starts in fi- HEY! Don't bite my neck, you jerk! Come on! Get off of me!" Stiles was _really_ panicking now. He began to resist strongly against Derek's hold; stronger than before.

He thrashed a bit and Derek turned him around again, if only so he could get a better grip on him to keep him still. When Stiles felt fangs on his neck again, he kicked Derek on the shins a few times. "_Derek! _Get_ off!_Get off, get off... GET OFF!" he shouted as he slapped the Alpha hard across the face. It hurt his hand considerably, and he made a face and grabbed his wrist when the pain registered. Derek blinked a few times. The slap hadn't hurt him physically, but it sure was a bruise to his ego. It brought him back to reality, and he just stared at Stiles with the most apologetic expression he's ever given.

Stiles looked up and saw 'the look'. The pain washed away almost immediately and he sighed sadly. "Sorry, but you were losing your grip. Someone has to keep you in line. If it has to be me, well... then I'm okay with that." But Derek wasn't satisfied. He just continued to stare at Stiles while backing up towards the window. "Derek. Derek, it's fine. I'm okay. You didn't really hurt me, the bites and hand will heal. Derek!" The taller man leapt out of the window and made a run for it. Stiles ran a hand through his short hair and closed his eyes, digging his thumbs into them. "It wasn't that big of a deal... You know that."

The first few periods of the day went by quickly, though Stiles could only really think of Derek the whole time. He felt bad, because he had a feeling he knew why Derek wanted to get rid of the smell of chlorine. It was because of those two hours spent fearing for their lives thanks to the Kanima. Derek was never afraid, but Stiles saw the blood drain from his face the moment he realized that Stiles was going to drop him. He may not think that he was afraid, but Stiles believed that there was definitely some fear in his eyes that night. Derek was afraid of being afraid. And it was because of that fear that he despised chlorine and, ultimately, pools.

Math class finally came (not soon enough in Stiles' opinion), and Stiles immediately jumped on the chance to talk to Scott. "Dude, I am _so_ sorry about this morning! I meant to meet up with you, but-"

"Stiles, it's fine. I found Allison, anyway, so it's totally okay." Stiles blinked a few times and deflated against his chair.

_I found Allison, so it's totally okay. _

_I found Allison._

_Allison is better than you._

Stiles couldn't help but think that Scott had betrayed him. He had betrayed him not only as a best friend, but a confident. He no longer had the desire to tell him about what transpired between him and Derek, nor did he have the desire to speak with him. He felt sick. As if Allison could replace him. Wasn't Scott worried about him at all? What if Derek had eaten him? Was this even about friendship or replacements? Maybe Scott just didn't care about who he hung out with in the morning. Yeah, that's got to be it. He wouldn't put Allison above him, right? He cared... right?

Although, when Stiles hadn't responded, Scott didn't seem to be at all worried. He didn't text him back. Nothing. When Stiles _had_ responded to Scott's text, Scott hadn't responded. Probably too busy gallavanting with Allison through first and fourth period. "... – swer to the question. Bolinski!" Stiles snapped back into reality after Mr. Finstock had thrown a book at his head.

"Huh? What?" Everyone laughed a bit at how startled Stiles was.

"Answer the question! Geez, do _any_ of you clueless knuckleheads listen?" Finstock rambled. Stiles, glancing at the question on the board, calculated the answer in his head almost immediately. He went up to the chalkboard and worked the problem out, noticing he had made a mistake when he had worked the problem out in his head. He was able to quickly fix it on the board, and had an answer of 93 in no time. Finstock looked on in mock amusement. "Wow, what a surprise! Braniac gets it again!" Stiles didn't really care much for the jeering, so he decided to just ignore it and continue thinking about Derek.

When fifth period let out, he left the room quickly without even taking a second glance at Scott. Stiles knew that it was just Scott's ignorance to his hurtful words, but it didn't make him feel any less worthless. That, with Derek piled on top, was just something Stiles didn't really need. So, he made his way into the hallway full of people and found his way to his next class.

The next three periods went by slower than usual, but still rather quickly. Jackson tantalized him a few times, but other than that, he didn't really have any problems. After the final bell rang, he gathered up his bag and went to lacrosse practice. He didn't see Derek there, and didn't really participate much as he was benched, anyway.

Finally, practice was over, and Stiles changed in the locker room before deciding to go over to Derek's house. However, as he was about to leave the locker room, Scott grabbed his shoulder. "Dude. Something's up with you. I've smelt, like, fear and anger on you for the past couple of hours." Stiles nudged his hand off and shook his head.

"Nah, man, I'm fine. Just have something to take care of, quick. You know, dads and all. Their worriment and whatnot," Stiles retorted.

"Your dad works late on Fridays." Oh, okay. Not that bad of a friend, then, if he can remember that much.

"Okay. You got me. I just have some bad blood with Derek at the moment that needs to be taken care of-"

"You have _WHAT_? Stiles! Seriously?" Scott spewed, but no matter how many scary wolf adventures they went on together, Scott would never know Derek like Stiles did. Too many late night talks in Stiles' room and unlikely encounters in common places. Derek's beginning to trust him now, and vice versa.

"Yeah. Yeah, something happened. This morning. After swimming practice. It's between us, and I'm gonna go handle it right now. If you've got a problem with it, take it up with Allison. Or something. She's your new best friend, as well as being your girlfriend, right?" Stiles stated with narrowed eyes. Not waiting for an answer, he walked out of the locker room swiftly, leaving Scott to ponder about what he had just heard.

Maybe it was stupid of Stiles to be acting as bitterly as he was. It wasn't even that big of a deal, Scott was just a clueless bonehead. But he can't shake the fact that something could have happened to him, and Scott wouldn't have even texted him to see if he was okay when he didn't come around that morning.

Stiles meandered his way through the halls of the school and eventually got to the doors that led him out of the building. He went through them and jogged down the steps, aiming for his jeep in the parking lot. When he got in, he threw his bag carelessly in the passenger seat and started the car.

On the way to Derek's house, he blasted music to clear his thoughts and maybe make him a little less nervous about just... trespassing, basically, on Derek's property. However, it didn't work, and he could feel the perspiration that started on just his forehead spread to his arms and hands, and eventually to the rest of his body.

He made it to Derek's house in one piece and could already see him on the porch when he pulled up. Not even getting a chance to open the door to the car, Derek came up to the window and knocked on it, as if to say that Stiles should roll it down. Well, he did so, and Derek leaned down so that Stiles could see his face. "You smell like anguish," Derek stated with a sort of laugh and oh my god he just laughed. Stiles blinked a few times, bemused and disbelieving. He eventually regained some focus and answered.

"Ye- uh, yeah. Yeah, I. Sorry, you just never laugh so this is kind of hard for me to take in right now and of course I smell like anguish! You've been on my mind all freaking day because you always take things the wrong way and you're seriously stupid and ugh! Just stop! Stop, for me, okay? Stop being stupid. You'll make both of our lives so much easier and-" He was cut off mid-sentence by a pair of lips belonging to one Derek Hale. Stiles' eyes widened at first and he squirmed a bit, but eventually he just gave in and closed his eyes.

The kiss was soft and innocent, and Derek's lips, though seemingly jagged, probably due to hours spent biting them with his sharp teeth, got a message across that Stiles wouldn't have thought he'd ever receive in his dizziest daydreams: _I'm into you._

Well. That was a surprise. Stiles kissed back, of course, and his lips were much softer than Derek's, making for an even balance between rough and soft between their mouths. Derek pulled away first, searching Stiles' eyes for a response, even though he received one through through the kiss already. "Wh- I don't- … What just happened?" Stiles couldn't even form coherent sentences, he was so flustered!

"I kissed you. Now you're confused. I think I sent a pretty clear message, but if you'd like me to reiterate... I like you, Stiles. Very much," Derek clarified, and at this Stiles' face heated up and he sputtered a bit, looking for words to respond with.

"I- Derek, I-" Derek just chuckled at his attempt to get a firm grasp on the situation. He kissed him again, and again, and again until Stiles finally calmed down and hooked an arm around Derek's neck. They spent quite a few good minutes in that position just kissing each other's mouths away before Derek grabbed hold of Stiles and lifted him up through the car window so that he could wrap his legs around his waist. When he did that, Derek continued kissing the younger boy while making his way to the house.

Stiles was now certain of three things: one, being angry at Scott was a stupid idea and he should go apologize to him, probably. Two, joining the swim team was an awful idea and he should just quit the team. Third, Derek Hale wanted him. Albeit in more ways than one.

Well, making out with an Alpha wasn't so bad. Stiles found himself seated in Derek's lap on the couch just kissing him, honestly, for a long, long time. It made up for all of the years of pining Derek did for him, and for all of the time Stiles never acted on his feelings for Derek.

Okay, so maybe joining the swim team hadn't been a bad idea, after all.


End file.
